JTech780

I could be wrong on the 4th, Lou can be stubborn, and he will make guys wait till he gets what he wants. I would go as far as a 3rd to take a chance on him. I think there is a chance that he could come here with a big chip on his shoulder, and ready to show what he can do.

Phillips can bring that physical edge we need too, lol.

I think they should be cycling the AHL guys through, reward strong play in the AHL, give guys a taste of the NHL, and promote competition on the farm. That boost of enthusiasm from a rookie getting called up can help push the vets as well.

Matthew Phillips is leading the Heat in scoring and is 9th in the AHL. I was mostly impressed with him in pre season, with one game later in camp that he looked sub par in. He was tenacious on the puck, showing great quickness. Might be worth keeping an eye on him as a call up.

It might be worth a shot at trying get Ho Sang from the Islanders. He hasn't played yet this year, awaiting a trade. We probably could get him for a 4th rounder or less at this point. He said he is willing to go to the AHL and prove himself first. Adding a RHS RW with skill wouldn't be the worst idea.

I was just watching some Gaudreau highlights from last season, and two things I noticed was how often he was attacking the middle of the ice, and how hard he back checked. So far this season he looks way too content to stay to the outside, and he isn't coming back on the back check near as hard. Not sure what his deal is this season, but he needs to start attacking the middle of the ice again.

At the end of the day the two things that the Flames should look to improve is A. Their discipline, still taking too many lazy penalties. And B. Figure out why two thirds of the top line are failing to compete at level that you need from your top players, especially against top teams.

Need more from Gaudreau. He didn't seem interested at all in playing against the Blues. Need to find a way to get his swagger back.

Kylington with the hatty tonight, but was a -3 in Stockton.

I thought Calgary fought hard in this game, after they went down 2-0 it would have been easy to just fold, especially with how hard the Blues were playing, but they kept with it. Gaudreau wasn't near hard enough on the puck in OT and then a bad penalty by Brodie. They showed that they can play with a top, and a heavy team at that. Gaudreau and Monahan were non factors the whole game. Tkachuk-Backlund-Mangiapane were the best line on the ice for the Flames. Really hard on pucks. Bennett provided the emotional quotient for this game. Threw a couple of big hits. Haven't seen enough of that from Bennett this season.

I am just not sure Brodie has a ton of value to a team like Ottawa. I could see them going after him as a UFA, but I can't see them giving up assets for him.

We would have to add a pick or a prospect in either deal. It would have to be a significant pick probably if it was Frolik. Frolik probably has negative value at this point, unfortunately.

Maybe we can get something for him, but the fact that most of the league is tight against the cap, makes me think he wouldn't get claimed. He has been as close to useless as anyone on the team this year. He isn't producing, and I really don't have that much of an issue with that, it's that he hasn't been great defensively and he is way too easy to play against. He needs to up his game. I think he would probably do better in the east. Maybe we can use him to get Fast from the Rangers.

Looking around for trade targets, I came across Jesper Fast. He might not be the big name we are looking for, but he does check a lot of boxes. He is a RHS RW, he is a good skater, he is good defensively, he kills penalties, and he can be physical. He has a cap hit of $1.85m so he fits our budget. He seems like a great fit for our team.

Might be time to put this guys on waivers. If we lose him, we clear $1.6m off the cap, if he clears we clear $1.025m off the cap, minus the amount of the player we recall. He has been really bad and it's been hard to watch. I was a Jankowski supporter after his draft and coming out of college, but it is getting really hard to support the player.